State GOP files Malloy complaint

By Magdalene Perez, Staff Writer

Published 5:02 pm, Tuesday, September 1, 2009

STAMFORD -- The chairman of the state Republican Party has filed a complaint against Mayor Dannel Malloy, alleging he is violating state elections rules by acting too much like a candidate for governor.

In February, Malloy formed an exploratory committee for a possible gubernatorial run in 2010. Under state elections rules, an exploratory committee is intended to allow a candidate who has not yet decided to run for a particular office to "test the waters." However, a candidate is required under state election rules to terminate the exploratory committee and form a new candidate committee within 15 days of making a "public declaration" of candidacy.

In a complaint filed with the State Elections Enforcement Commission, State Republican Party Chairman Chris Healy alleges Malloy has violated the public declaration rule on his Web site, www.danmalloy.com. In particular, Healy points to statements Malloy made during an interview on the talk radio station WXLM as evidence of the alleged violation. According to the complaint, Malloy said there "is precious little doubt" he will run for governor and that he has a "pretty good idea of what I'm going to do."

The complaint also alleged Malloy violated state elections law by posting a link to his exploratory Web site on a blog he writes for The Advocate. The link can be found on Malloy's "The Blog That Works," under a tab labeled bookmarks. The link is a violation because it was not paid for and not attributed to Malloy's exploratory committee, according to the complaint. In an interview Tuesday, Healy said the link could be considered "a corporate donation."

"We believe that Mayor Malloy is more than past the threshold of being a candidate for governor," Healy said. "His activities point to someone who is not just exploring but someone who is clearly seeking the top job."

Malloy responded to the allegations in a statement Tuesday, saying the complaint was political and triggered by Malloy's vocal criticism of the governor.

"We believe this complaint is politically motivated and completely baseless," Malloy said in the statement. "The complaint was filed by the State Republican Party, which is the political apparatus of Governor Rell."

"The fact that her political arm has filed this complaint is more than a little suspect," the statement added.

Malloy said in the statement he has taken "every effort" to ensure his committee is in "complete compliance" with state elections laws.

"I'm confident that we've complied with the letter and spirit of the law, I appreciate the guidance the SEEC has given us to date, and I welcome a continuing dialogue with them as we move forward," Malloy said in the statement.

Nancy Nicolescu, a spokeswoman for the State Elections Enforcement Commission, said she could not comment on the complaint because it is under review.

According to a recent ruling, the commission will base judgment of whether a candidate has violated the public declaration rule by determining "whether a reasonable person would believe that the activity or activities in question indicate that the candidate is continuing to deliberate whether to run, or whether his or her actions are indicative that the candidate is actually seeking election to a specific public office."

Staff Writer Magdalene Perez can be reached at 964-2240 or magdalene.perez@scni.com.